Pastor’s Blog
Sermons from Immanuel Lutheran Chicago
Sermons from Immanuel Lutheran Chicago
Immanuel is a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) This is Christ’s church. There is a place for you here. We are the church that shares a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. Liberated by our faith, we embrace you as a whole person–questions, complexities and all. Join us as we do God’s work in Christ’s name for the life of the world.
Address
1500 W Elmdale Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60660
Phone/Fax
773-743-1820
773-743-1849
Email/Web
churchonelmdale@gmail.com
www.immanuellutheranchicago.org
Dark Night of the Soul
SermonAdvent 3A-22 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago It’s a blue Christmas for John the Baptist. He paces back and forth in his narrow cell. Imprisoned by King Herod, he questions the choices he’s made. Last Sunday, he seemed so sure of himself. John preached a baptism of fire and spirit in the wilderness beside the Jordan. But […]
Your Armor of Light
SermonAdvent 1A-22 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Jesus sat and spoke to the disciples. He is somewhere on the Mount of Olives across the Kidron valley from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The time and manner of his coronation as Lord and King remain unimaginable to his little band of followers. They still don’t know what’s about […]
Jesus or Judas?
SermonChrist the King, C-22 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Today’s gospel offers us a choice. Shall we follow Jesus or Judas? It may sound like a rhetorical question. After all, as every kid in Sunday school knows, the right answer to every question is always Jesus. But the question carries us beyond what we know to assess […]
In From the Storm
SermonProper 28C-22 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Her name is Stefani. She laughs easily with a throaty chuckle. Her eyes sparkle. ‘Bliss,’ could be her nickname. But her words catch us by surprise. In a quiet moment, she says, “What a sad world. I look around the world and grieve.” Stefani is not a sad person, but […]
Lean Back, Kick Forward
SermonAll Saints C-22 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago November 6, 2022 For those who walked with us, This is a prayer. For those who have gone ahead, this is a blessing. For those who touched and tended us, who lingered with us while they lived, this a thanksgiving. For those who journey still with us in the […]
Join the Parade
SermonProper 26C-22 – Reformation Sunday Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago “Zaccheus was a wee, little man, and a wee, little man was he.” It’s hard for me to read this gospel without that bible song running through my head. “He climbed up in a sycamore tree, For the Lord he wanted to see.” This wee little story, […]
When It’s Wrong to Be Right
SermonProper 25C-22 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Today’s gospel is like a Far Side cartoon. It tells an entire story in a single frame—only not a very funny one. The Pharisee in our gospel today was, as Mark Twain might have described him, “a good man in the worst sense of the word.” I wish I could […]